I just finished up a two part class on botanical illustration at Mass Audobon. As always, I didn’t create anything particularly amazing while I was in the class, but I got a lot of value in the information that I took home with me.
The instructor was a well spoken woman who was very informed on many aspects of natural history and botanical illustration. She gave us a good understanding of the conventions of botanical illustration, and differentiated it from “botanical art.” (I’m definitely more interested in botanical art as opposed to classical botanical illustration.) She also rambled quite a bit about all kinds of other art topics, which I found pleasant and informative.
We were working in colored pencil, which is part of the reason why I’ve been inspired to get back into it lately. I was able to talk to the instructor about some things I’ve been curious about, like what she thought of sanded papers (I’ve never tried any).
I’m really glad that I went to this class because it was an opportunity to do something art related and get out of the house by myself for a few hours.
I bought some hotpress watercolor paper to try out. I’m not sure how I feel about the surface; it will take some getting used to. Coldpress paper seems to allow me more time for “wiggle room” before leaving an indelible mark. Also, coldpress paper seems to take more abuse and “scrubbing” before the paper’s surface starts to disintegrate. I painted this rose, but I mangled the leaves badly so I cut them off with the paper cutter.
It’s frustrating to have something turn out badly, especially when I don’t get to paint whenever I want anymore. I know that it is to be expected though, and I’m glad I experimented with this new paper.
This year when I felt like painting all I seemed to want to paint was florals. And I’m still not sick of them! I’m currently making sketches for some new rose paintings. I made this one while I was waiting for Cate to fall asleep one night.
I seem to be having more and more ideas for new projects than ever, but less and less time to work on them. A few days ago I saw this article titled Balancing Parenthood and Your Art Career by Lori McNee, and I felt like “the universe” was reading my mind.
I’m trying to think of ways to do more work, or rather, to finish more work. I feel that I need to work faster, or at least in a less tedious manner. Interestingly, I’ve been feeling like this for a long time now, well before Cate came along.
This is my latest painting, which I used as the image for my Christmas cards this year. I painted it in watercolor first, and then went over it with colored pencil. I wanted something really bright and bold, and I think that I got what I was going for even though it isn’t blatantly Christmas themed.
If you scroll down you can see two work in progress photos plus my printed cards that I got in the mail the other day. Opening up my package made all my hard work seem worth it. I ordered my cards with red envelopes. I am really happy with the quality, although I wish I had the option to have 5 x 7 cards printed.
This is after I finished the watercolor and had just started on the colored pencil.
I worked from top left to lower right and used a piece of paper towel to rest my hand on to avoid smudging the colored pencil.
This image goes along with this one that I had posted earlier. My sister had them printed on postcards to use as invitations for my baby shower. I like the delicate look of graphite with watercolor wash and I’m thinking of making more pictures in this style. What do you think?
There is no fatigue so wearisome as that which comes from lack of work. -Charles H Spurgeon
I painted these roses back in July, when I had more energy and when my life felt completely different. These days I am exhausted, mostly because I am in my last few weeks of pregnancy. Apparently, I have a free pass to take it easy according to my family, but I can’t help but feel a little guilty. I did finish up my large handbook sketchbook and have started on another one. So far, all I’ve done are small black ink sketches, although I’m hoping to drag out the watercolors and have a go at them soon.
I sketched these daisies last week after my baby shower (one of them). Yesterday was my other baby shower and now I am swimming in so much baby paraphernalia that I find it overwhelming! I am so lucky because I was only expecting a fraction of what I got. I was going to try to be super minimalist, but now I’m thinking that my baby girl will be pampered for sure.
In my mind I’ve been avoiding the inevitable that I am running out of time to do certain tasks uninterrupted. Now that my life has settled down a bit and I’m done moving, I’m going to try to do as much drawing and painting as possible before the baby gets here. Also, I’ve been trying to do some reading because I probably won’t be doing much of that either.
This is the watercolor that I’ve been working on here and there over the past few weeks. I was orginally painting white roses, but I made the shadows much too gray and drab. I ended up repainting the roses this much deeper mauve color. The color does work better, but now the flowers seem much too stiff–more like something you would see on a vintage floral printed fabric. I’m not sure if I’m really pleased with this painting or not, because it is really nothing like what I had originally wanted to do. I am happy that I finished it off in either case though.
Regardless of the final product, this was still a valuable exercise because I hadn’t been painting in awhile and I badly needed the practice. Now I feel more confident to start on a new project.
I am attending a wedding later this summer. Instead of buying a generic card, I decided to paint my own, making it a part of the gift. I feel that it is a big risk and also an imposition to give someone artwork unless you are positive they will love it. Painting a greeting card, on the other hand, is pretty low risk because the recipient will not feel obligated to display it.
That said, most people really love a handmade card. My sister has framed the birthday cards that I have given her over the years. Now she has a nice collection hanging on her wall. Later on this year, I am going to have some of my paintings printed onto cards, so I have some already on hand. Also, it is more economical than painting an original every time.
For this painting, I used this photo for reference. I don’t normally use other people’s photos, but I did in this case.
